The inside of the Museum of Transport, Manchester with several of the buses exhibited in their original liveries.
The Museum of Transport, Manchester is a museum that aims to preserve and promote the public transport heritage of Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. Owned by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, the museum is located in the Cheetham Hill area of The city of Manchester. The museum became a Registered Museum in May 2003, with the GMTS having become a Registered Charity back in 1980.
History[]
The museum itself is owned by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, having been established at the Boyle Street site, Cheetham Hill, in 1979. The museum was set up to actively promote interest in the history and heritage of Greater Manchester's local passenger transport system. The day-to-day running of the museum is carried out by volunteers from the Greater Manchester Transport Society.
The museum collection is constantly developing and restoration work can be often be seen by visitors giving the display a lively, working atmosphere. In the future, the collection of vehicles and other artefacts relating to the roads of Greater Manchester will continue to grow, with the Museum further developing its facilities as well as restoring items which have already been received but which still remain in derelict condition currently. With GMPTE's continuing support, it is hoped the museum will continue to be a focal point and a major attraction of its type.
The museum holds a sizeable collection of buses and transport relate artefacts, one of the largest of its kind in the UK. Due to the limited size of the building, some vehicles have to be kept off-site, with exhibits changed around every so often. In addition, vehicles often attend external events around the country during the summer months.
Collection[]
The museum is home to around 100 buses, of which 70 or so are kept on the site. The remaining vehicles are kept elsewhere to allow for restoration work to be carried out and so other vehicles can be exhibited.
Also in the collection are two trolleybuses from Manchester and Ashton-under-Lyne corporations, the prototype Manchester Metrolink tram, and a Manchester Corporation horse tram from 1901. There is also a host of other related exhibits, from old road signs to uniforms - and several items used by Warner Bros. during filming of Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban (Stan the conductor's equipment).
There is also an extensive archive collection, featuring old timetables, maps, books, posters, manuals and plans - visitors wishing to view the archive need to notify the museum in advance to arrange access.
Vehicle list[]
Below are some of the vehicles in the collection.[1]
| Museum Fleet no | Reg no. | Operator | Make | Type/Model | Built date | Photo | Misc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| no | reg no | operator | make | type/model | build date | 
|
other info |
| 11 | TTD 386H | GMT | Leyland | Leyland Titan PD3/14 | 1969 |  |
Double Decker - Last Titan Built |
| 28 | VR 5742 | Manchester Corporation | Leyland | Leyland Tiger | 1930 |  |
Single deck wooden body |
| 70 | UMA 370 | SH | Atkinson | Atkinson PD746 | 1955 |  |
Unique example (only Atkinson Double built) |
| 77 | JBN 153 | Bolton | Leyland | Leyland Titan PD2/13 | 1956 |  |
Metro Cammell body |
| 106 | YM 9410 | Stockport Corp | Karrier Motors | Tow wagon | 1926 |  |
ex Shell tanker |
| 174 | DDB 174C | North western | Daimler | Daimler Fleetline CRG6LX | 1965 |  |
other info |
| 526 | AXJ 857 | Manchester Corporation | Leyland | Leyland Chassis | 1934 |  |
Chassis only sectioned as teaching aid |
| 1000 | na | Metrolink | Officine Casertane Caserta | Tram | 1990 |  |
Prototype Metro Tram |
| 2150 | JND 791 | Manchester Corporation | Crossley Motors | DD42/8S | 1949 |  |
Double Decker |
| 3520 | TNA 520 | Manchester Corporation | Leyland | Leyland Titan PD2/34 | 1958 |  |
Burlington body & Semi Auto box |
| no | reg no | operator | make | type/model | build date |
|
other info |
| EX62 | GNC 276N | GMT | Seddon Lucas | Pennine body | 1975 |  |
Experimental electric bus |
| non | BRJ 333 | Salford Fire Brigade | Leyland / Merryweather | Turntable ladder | 1926 |  |
Stored for 25 years |
| non | HTF 586 | Warburtons Transport | Bedford | Bedford OB Coach | 1947 |  |
SMT body (Dupole design) |
| 256 | JNA 156 | Manchester corporation | Lacre | Lacre sweeper | 1936 |  |
Early road sweeper |
| ? | LSU 282 | Lancashire United Transport | AEC | AEC Matador | 1943 |  |
Recovery |
| non | - | unknown operator | Ingersoll Rand | Compressor | date ? |  |
Used by road repair gangs |
| no | reg no | operator | make | type/model | build date |
|
other info |
Events[]
The museum holds a number of regular events throughout the year.
- March: Spring Transport Festival - Market day for specialist retailers and booksellers.
- May: Themed event.
- September: Trans-Lancs Historic Vehicle Show - various visiting heritage vehicles held in Heaton Park with heritage bus service linking park to museum. The event is staged on the first Sunday in September.
- October: Themed event.
- December: The Christmas Cracker - Market day for specialist retailers and booksellers.
During most of these events a heritage bus service from Manchester Victoria (rail) Station to the museum runs every 20 minutes between 09:50 and 17:00.
Location[]
The Museum of Transport is located approximately two miles north of Manchester City Centre, close to the junction of the A665 (Cheetham Hill Road) and the A6010 (Queens Road). It is at the north end of Boyle Street, adjoining the First Greater Manchester bus garage. Main bus services 88/89, 151 and 135 stop nearby.
The museum is signposted when you approach the Manchester Fort shopping centre
The Museum is open from 10am to 4.30pm on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays (except at Christmas and New Year), plus every day during August.
Future developments[]
As the museum continues to expand, it has been identified that additional space will be required. This has meant that GMPTE, GMTS and Manchester City Council are currently looking at the option of moving the museum to a larger, more modern facility in the coming years.
See also[]
References / sources[]
- Based on wikipedia article.
External links[]
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This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Museum of Transport in Manchester. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons by Attribution License and/or GNU Free Documentation License. Please check page history for when the original article was copied to Wikia |